


Fireworks

by spockums



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Boys In Love, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 13:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20724875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spockums/pseuds/spockums
Summary: The first kiss he ever had was on a hot August evening.





	Fireworks

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what I am doing. It's these beans, ya know?
> 
> Anyway, mistakes are mine.

The first kiss he ever had was on a hot August evening. He and Richie were walking home from Bill’s house, the sky slowly melting from orangey pinks to purply blues. The day had been spent eating too many bomb pops and gluing nudey pictures from Bill’s dad's secret stash to the inside of MAD magazines. Ben had the idea to run an extension cord all the way from the kitchen to the treehouse in Bill’s backyard. The small desk fan, that Richie obnoxiously called “The Asthmatic” due to it barely puffing out any air, was giving little to no relief from the hot, stale heat. Still, they had spent the entire day out there, laughing and bickering. Having far too much fun. 

Bill’s house was across town from where Eddie and Richie lived. Leaving them the task of walking down the large hill that made up Maple Street, across the old train tracks just on the edge of downtown and through the small town square. 

They usually rode their bikes everywhere they went but Eddies had recently bit the dust when the chain had snapped mid-ride causing him to go swerving into Mrs. Cornwall’s bushes. Mrs. Cornwall herself had been outside watering her mums for the third time that day when Eddie had gone tits up and had insisted on bandaging up his skinned palms. He had left the Daffy Duck bandages on his hands for the rest of the week until Stan demanded that he change them for fresh ones since the edges had curled up and turned black from dirt. So, as it were, the Losers Club had decided that they would all forego their bikes until Eddie was able to get his back in working condition. 

Walking down the cracked, cobbled sidewalk their reflections wobbled and wavered in the large plate glass windows of the old downtown buildings. Eddie was talking a mile a minute, the back of his left hand slapping down into the palm of his right with every point he was making. 

About two blocks back Richie had insisted that “Batman would win in a fight Eds, Supes wouldn’t stand a fucking chance!” He had done it on purpose, of course, Eddie knew that. Richie just wanted to get a rise out of him and, clearly, it worked seeing as he was currently talking so fast and so loudly that it sounds like he was speaking another language. “And, I mean, what the fuck Rich, he’s a goddamn alien. You can’t beat that, he literally gets his power from the Sun. You’re an idio-”

Eddie was cut off mid-rant as Richie yanked him by the wrist into the small alley between Mr. Goddards Grocies and The Capitol theater. Eddie’s heart immediately started pounding as he allowed his best friend to drag him down into the dim alley. The sun was slowly disappearing from the sky causing the light to gradient into black in the back of the alley. “Wha- What is it?” Eddie gasped before Richie shoved him back against the bricks. The back of his arms scraping along the jagged mortar. 

Richie didn’t answer him, simply stared into his eyes. His hands gripping onto Eddie’s arms tightly. Eddie could barely make out his face, but he could see a battle of emotions swirling in his best friend's eyes. They were magnified behind Richie's thick, rimmed glasses. It made Eddie feel uneasy, exposed. Richie never stood this still, was never this silence. Never had a look so serious on his face before. It made Eddie want to run and cry. But he didn’t, he swallowed thickly, staring back into his friend's eyes and whispered “Richie?” 

Had he seen something? Someone? More specifically had he seen Henry Bowers? That bastard would never leave them alone. If he spotted the two of them alone together just before dark there’s no telling what he and his stupid friends would do to them. They probably would never be seen or heard from again. 

The only response Eddie received was the tightening of Richie’s grasp on his biceps and the soft wheezing from his chest. They stood there breathing for a couple more minutes, Eddie going out of his mind with fear. What was going on with his friend? Why did he look so scared? Why was he not answering him? “C-come on, man, you’re really scarin’ the shit outta me here, Rich. Was it Bowers? Did you see him or somethin’? Did they see u-”

Eddie was cut off for the second time that evening. One moment he was begging his friend to explain to him what the hell had gotten into him and the next he felt dry, thin lips pressed flatly against his. It made him freeze. His back as rigid as the brick wall he was pressed against. His heartbeat missing in his chest, skipping one, two, three necessary pumps. Before it had felt like a rabbit in his ribs but now, now he felt like if he thought about it hard enough it would stop altogether. Maybe it already had. 

Richie must have felt the sudden pause in Eddie, felt his body literally stutter to a stop because he then quickly pulled back. His eyes looking as large as the set on one of Georgie’s pet praying mantis’. 

“Shit, Eds,” he whispered, bringing his hand up to lightly touch his lips as he took a step away from Eddie. 

Eddie licked his lips as he watched Richie stare at him, horrified. “I-I better,” Richie began, pointing towards the mouth of the alley before starting to briskly walk away. And, Eddie let him go. Well, he let him go all of ten steps before he was bolting after Richie. Yanking on his friend's wrist and slamming him against the backdoor of the grocery building. 

Looking for just a second Eddie took in Richie’s big eyes, bowl hair cut, freckled cheeks, and big ears. The peeling green door behind him framing him perfectly, making Eddie suck in a deep breath before he went up on his tiptoes and smashed his lips to Richie’s. Pressing himself so hard into his friend that their noses scrunched against each other's cheeks. It would have almost been painful if not for the fact that it was Richie he was crushed against.

They stayed like that for a long while, neither moving, barely breathing before Richie slowly brought his shaking hands up to sit lightly on Eddie khaki-clad hips. 

Both their eyes were screwed shut so incredibly tight that they could see sparkles behind their eyelids. Later, Eddie would wonder while laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, if the sparkles were only from the pressure on their eyes or if it was also from something more. Like, fireworks. Books and movies always talked about how kisses made you see fireworks.

Pulling back slowly Eddie opened his eyes to see Richie with his still closed behind those ridiculous glasses. It made Eddie giggle a little with how pained his friend looked, “Rich?” he breathed. Which caused Richie to snap his eyes open, his deep brown irises glowing from the street lamp above. Which, now that Eddie thought about it, he never noticed flicker on. And well, it was completely dark out now, the only light coming from the buzzing lamps and neon lights from the downtown shops. 

Stepping back Eddie cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. “We should, uh-” he said softly.

Richie just nodded slowly at first and then seemed to regain awareness and said “Yeah, uh, yeah. We should go. Our moms are probably gonna kill us.” He laughed humorlessly and then turned to walk the rest of the way out of the alley. Eddie following close behind him. 

As they continued down the sidewalk to Richie’s house neither one of them spoke. Richie had his hands shoved in the pockets of his jean shorts and Eddie chewed on his lip nervously. He couldn’t help sneaking glances over at the taller boy but Richie didn’t seem to notice. And, if he did he didn’t mention or act as if he had. 

By the time they reached the Toizer house the cicadas were buzzing so loudly in the trees you could hardly hear the train that was currently rumbling through town. Richie's house had a white fence around the front, the gate dead center to the blue front door. The path cutting through the yard was made of orange and red brick. The drawing of Yoda Eddie had made last week with green and brown chalk was slowly fading by the porch steps. 

“Well, see ya!” Richie said suddenly, the false cheerfulness catching in Eddie’s ears. 

“Wait, Richie,” Eddie grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him back around. “We gonna talk about that…” Eddie didn’t finish the sentence, too afraid to speak the word out into the world.  _ Kiss _ .

“About that what?” Richie asked, feigning ignorance, which really grated on Eddie. Huffing Eddie looked down the street away from Richie. The street the Tozier’s lived on was kind of picturesque. As far as the eye could see there were large houses lining the road, their porch lights on and their lawns perfectly mowed. Trees hung over the street creating a canopy of solace, only small pieces of the sky poking through.    
  


Looking back at Richie, Eddie’s face twisted up in frustration, an emotion he was accustom to feeling when it came to his friend. “The you know what,” Eddie snapped quietly. 

Richie chewed on his bottom lip looking back at the house. Eddie could tell he was in the middle of an internal battle when he started walking back over to Eddie and put his hand on the shorter boy's shoulders. Leaning close he said,  _ “Eds.”  _

_ “Eds.” _

_ “Eds.” _

_ “Eddie!” _

Eddie jumped in his seat. Blinking, he looked around to see all of his past friends staring at him. They were all sitting in a circle, Chinese food covering the tabletop. They all looked both so young and so old. They looked exactly the same and so very different. Oh, how he had missed them and oh, how he wished to have never seen them again. Ben, and Mike, and Bev and Bill. They were all there, except Stan. They were all there, and his heart hurt with how much he loved them. A hand squeezed Eddie’s shoulder and he turned to look directly into Richie Tozier’s eyes. The only one.  _ The _ only one. Richie. “You okay, Eds?”

“The alley... Fireworks,” He whispered, hoping, so badly hoping Richie understood. “I remember.”

Richie smiled softly, bringing his hand down to Eddie’s thigh before responding, “I never forgot.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @stevieerogers


End file.
